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Vaccines and Autism – Is the MMR Guilty of Causing Autism?

Scientist William Thompson, CDC Senior Epidemiologist, has stated that he and his CDC colleagues consciously omitted data from a 2004 study (funded by vaccine manufacturers) that linked the MMR vaccine to autism. In his statement, Dr. Thompson said “I regret that my coauthors and I omitted statistically significant information.” Dr. Thompson came forward after highly sensitive documents were released showing widespread manipulation of scientific data and pressure for CDC scientists to suppress a causal link between the MMR and autism[i]. The documents show that African American boys who received the MMR in 2003 had a 340% increased risk of autism.

In August of 2014, a re-analysis of the 2004 study was published in Translational Neurodegeneration showing a statistically significant relationship between the timing of the first MMR vaccine and autism incidence in African American males.

Autism Speaks also reports a higher incidence of regressive autism in African Americans. In their analysis, African American children are twice as likely to develop autism than white children. While this study wasn’t able to determine why this is so, it is leading to speculation about both a link between MMR and autism as well as potential vitamin D deficiencies in African American children.

Is it Only African American Children?

A research paper published in the September 2014, Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology found a link for ALL children who received the MMR vaccine. They discovered an increase in autism was DIRECTLY related to vaccine manufacturers using human fetal cells. The analysis revealed that the rise in autistic disorder coincided with the introduction of vaccines manufactured using human fetal cell lines, containing fetal and retroviral contaminants into childhood vaccine regimens. The pattern was witnessed in the U.S., U.K. Western Australia and Denmark.

This builds on the paper published in the Journal of Immunotoxicology by Dr. Helen Ratajczak. Dr. Ratajczak who raised concerns over human cell lines being used in the MMR vaccine. She also researched and provided evidence for multiple causes of autism including genetic mutations, viral infections following vaccinations, defective placenta, immature blood-brain barrier, the immune response of the mother to infection while pregnant, premature births, encephalitis in the child after birth or a toxic environment.

Vaccines for the Greater Greed

The vaccine industry gives millions to the American Academy of Pediatrics for conferences, grants and classes – a clear conflict of interest.

Dr. Paul Offit who is very critical of those who do not vaccinate or use a different timeline from the CDC’s recommended schedule, is the Chief of Infections Disease at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and just happens to hold a $1.5 million research chair that is funded by Merck and holds the patent on the Rotateq vaccine – another clear conflict of interest[ii]. Dr. Paul Offit has also stated that babies can tolerate “10,000 vaccines at once”

But money and greed can play a role in vaccines. In fact the mumps portion of the MMR’s validity is being called into question. Whistleblowers claim that Merck management instructed staff to withhold information about the high failure rate of the mumps portion of the MMR vaccine before selling it to the U.S. government[iii] prompting several lawsuits.

One lawsuit states that Merck violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by falsifying the mumps efficacy rate, preventing other companies from bringing their mumps vaccine to market. Another suit was filed by physicians who were forced to pay more for the MMR vaccine due to Merck’s monopoly of sales to the U.S. government.

Kellie Lerner, a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, who serves as co-lead counsel on behalf of direct purchasers of the mumps vaccine, stated, “We are pleased that the court has upheld our federal antitrust claim in this important case. While Merck has enjoyed an exclusive monopoly on the sale of mumps vaccine in the United States, mumps outbreaks continue to occur because, as we allege in our lawsuit, Merck has misled the public about the vaccine’s efficacy. This decision brings us one step closer to shining a light on Merck’s deceptive business practices so that new and more effective vaccines will ultimately be developed in the future.”